VaBeachGirl

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay? Yes (I was there for a total of 12 nights)

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
-- Booked King Exec at a Govt Rate and initially received King Exec (the IHG App showed I was upgraded to IC Club Suite 2 days prior to check-in, but 1 day prior to check-in, the reservation was switched back to King Exec)
-- After two days in the King Exec and several conversations with Club Lounge Staff, I was moved to the IC Club Suite (which was a one level upgrade and what I had expected)
-- Was initially offered 5000 points for lack of guaranteed upgrade, but I explained that I didn't really need the points and if I knew I wouldn't get the guaranteed upgrade, I would have booked a King Deluxe room at a lower rate (knowing I would receive the King Exec based on Sept 2016 T&C update). They were great and ended up charging me the lower rate for 10 out of 12 nights

How are the rooms?
-- King Exec: Very dark with little outdoor light through the small window. Not a lot of surface areas to put belongings, not much desk space to work on your laptop. Farily small bathroom with limited space for toiletries. Shower/tub was really high and a pain to step into.
-- IC Club Suite: Still dark with little outdoor light but at least it had two small windows vs just one. The full bathroom was amazing, plenty of room for everything. The living room was very roomy and there was also a half bath. Plenty of surface space and drawers in both rooms

How is the exec. lounge?
Fantastic. Breakfast had cook to order eggs, plus hot and cold items on the buffet. The cocktail hour had 3 hot items (mostly chicken or meat items, sometimes vegetarian) and plenty of cold options (veggies, seafood canapes, cheese) with sushi daily. No self serve coffee/tea at breakfast or drinks during the cocktail hour, but the wait staff were really attentive and ready for refills. They made sure to let you know right before 8pm that it was last call. Thursday/Friday nights and Friday/Saturday mornings were usually mobbed with visitors from Saudi.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
Received fruit and water plus a bar of camel milk soap

How was the minibar?
Decent. Multiple mini bottles of whiskey and liquor, 3 beers, one small bottle each of red and white wine and a small bottle of Moet (at 50 BHD!); plus soda, sparkling water, etc. Minibar was refilled daily

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
-- Just about everyday, I received 4 bottles of water
-- Fruit was refilled about every 3 - 4 days
-- Compensation for lack of guaranteed upgrade was good
-- Exec lounge and staff were amazing and friendly; food was great
-- Any staff member I encountered was courteous and friendly
-- IC Club Suite was fantastic (despite it being dark)
-- There are two pools, I enjoyed both of them! The pool on the 10th floor at the spa was quiet and relaxing. Elements was a bit trendy and busier, but since it's off the mezzanine level, it was less windy
-- The hotel is right next to the souq

-Bad
-- Not a guaranteed upgrade for RAs (or they could have communicated that with me prior to arrival)
-- Dark rooms with small windows and very little light from outside
-- Not necessarily bad, but if you want to rest, make sure to put the Do Not Disturb light on. Otherwise, there are people in and out of your room all day starting at 9am (housekeeping, minibar check, minibar refills, housekeeping again, turndown service, fruit refills, etc)
-- Traffic in and around the hotel can get very congested, especially in the afternoon and on the weekends

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
-- Yes, it was a great value

Would you return? In a heartbeat!